CO₂ malus in 2026: scale, import reduction and exemptions
Enter the car’s CO₂ figure and its first registration date: the tool picks the right scale, then applies the age reduction if the car is an import.
CO₂ malus · 2026 scale
€4,279
for 150 g/km counted
| New, registered in 2025 (from 113 g/km) | €3,119 |
| New, registered in 2026 (from 108 g/km) | €4,279 |
| New, registered in 2027 (from 103 g/km) | €5,715 |
The weight malus comes on top, within a shared cap. The application itself is free on the official ANTS website: you only pay the taxes.
The CO₂ malus is France’s one-off emissions tax on passenger cars, charged when a car is registered in France for the first time, whether it is brand new or a used import. The amount depends on the WLTP emissions figure in box V.7 of the registration certificate, and on the scale for the year of first registration rather than the year you ordered. For a car registered in 2026 it starts at €50 at 108 g/km and reaches €80,000 above 191 g/km. In 2027 the threshold drops to 103 g/km and the maximum rises to €90,000. From March to December 2025 the scale began at 113 g/km, with a maximum of €70,000. A used import keeps the scale of the year it was first registered anywhere, then gets a reduction based on its age in months; nothing is due if that date is before 1 January 2015. Electric and hydrogen cars are exempt, and the weight malus is added under a shared cap.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Thresholds and caps of the three scales
The scale in article L421-62 of the French tax code gives a fixed amount for each gram of CO₂: it is a lookup grid, not a price per gram. Each year the grid shifts 5 grams lower and the top amount goes up.
| Scale | Taxed from | First amount | Last step | Above that |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 (March to December) | 113 g/km | €50 | 192 g/km | €70,000 |
| 2026 | 108 g/km | €50 | 191 g/km | €80,000 |
| 2027 | 103 g/km | €50 | 189 g/km | €90,000 |
A few rows of the grid show what the shift means: the same car costs more if it is registered a year later.
| WLTP emissions | 2025 (Mar to Dec) | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 110 g/km | €0 | €100 | €210 |
| 115 g/km | €100 | €210 | €310 |
| 120 g/km | €210 | €310 | €540 |
| 125 g/km | €310 | €540 | €983 |
| 130 g/km | €540 | €983 | €1,504 |
| 140 g/km | €1,504 | €2,205 | €3,119 |
| 150 g/km | €3,119 | €4,279 | €5,715 |
| 160 g/km | €5,715 | €8,770 | €14,325 |
| 170 g/km | €14,325 | €22,380 | €32,935 |
| 180 g/km | €32,935 | €45,990 | €61,245 |
| 190 g/km | €61,245 | €76,800 | €90,000 |
The date that picks the scale
French law uses the date of first registration, as the official CO₂ malus page on service-public.gouv.fr explains. An order signed in 2026 for delivery in 2027 therefore falls under the 2027 scale. Cars first registered in January or February 2025 still use the 2024 scale, which started at 118 g/km; the 2025 scale only runs from 1 March 2025.
Used imports: original scale, then an age reduction
For a car you bring into France second-hand, the scale is the one for the year it was first registered in any country. A depreciation coefficient based on the number of months since then is deducted, every started month counting, and the maximum is reduced in the same proportion.
- up to 12 months: 12 % off;
- up to 36 months: 28 % off;
- up to 60 months: 38 % off;
- up to 120 months: 64 % off;
- up to 180 months: 94 % off;
- beyond the last step, the reduction reaches 100 %.
Example: a car rated at 150 g/km, first registered in Belgium on 1 June 2023 and re-registered in France on 20 October 2026, falls under the 2023 scale, which gives €1,504 before the reduction. With 33 % off, €1,008 remains to pay. A first registration before 1 January 2015 cancels the tax; between that date and 1 January 2020 the older NEDC scale applies and this tool does not compute it. From 2027 the law adds a usage-based component to the reduction, which this tool does not yet include.
Reliefs and exemptions
- Large families: from 3 dependent children, 20 g/km less per child. A new car at 170 g/km pays €22,380; for a family with 3 children the figure counted falls to 110 g/km and the malus to €100, the difference being refunded afterwards.
- E85 flex-fuel: emissions are cut by 40 %, unless they exceed 250 g/km.
- Electric and hydrogen: exempt, whatever the power.
- Disability: exempt for holders of the French disability mobility card (CMI invalidité) and for any wheelchair-accessible vehicle.
- Out of scope: car-derived vans since 1 January 2026, motorhomes, commercial vehicles and two-wheelers do not pay this malus.
What the tool works out
It takes the WLTP figure, the number of dependent children and where the car comes from: new and registered today, or a used import with the year and month of first registration. It shows the malus for the scale that applies, the amount before reduction and the percentage removed for an import, then what a new car with the same figure would pay in 2025, 2026 and 2027. It does not handle E85; for that and for the full registration cost, use the full calculation. The weight malus comes on top.